Quiz Questions

Question 1

Which of the following statements are in line with the perspective taken by The Economist in the article “What companies are for”?

a. Workers are getting a lower share of the value firms create
b. It is difficult for CEOs to ascertain what sustainability-related goals they should pursue
c. Owners of companies should be the ones to set the purpose of companies
d. All of the above

Answer 1

d. All of the above

Question 2

Adanac Co. has recently updated its human resource policy to be one that is centered on benevolent paternalism, with the expectation that its workers will in turn be loyal to it. Which phase of sustainability would it most likely fit in?

a. Efficiency
b. The sustaining corporation
c. Strategic proactivity
d. Compliance

Answer 2

d. Compliance

Question 3

Samsung recently began redesigning its mobile phones in order to reduce material throughput. Which phase of sustainability would it most likely fit in?

a. Efficiency
b. Strategic proactivity
c. Compliance
d. The sustaining corporation

Answer 3

b. Strategic proactivity

Question 4

True or False: The Economist advocates for enhancing both accountability and dynamism in order to make capitalism work.

Answer 4

True

Question 5

True or False: A sole proprietor who owns a restaurant decides to donate 10% of all her business’s revenue to a local charity. Based on Milton Friedman’s arguments, we would expect him to have major objections to this decision.

Answer 5

False

Question 6

Examples of costs that Weybrecht would categorize as “hidden and overhead costs” include:

a. Costs incurred due to past pollution, including clean-up of closed or existing sites
b. The cost of remedying and compensating for future accidental releases of contaminants into the environment
c. Externalities such as emissions of air particles
d. All of the above

Answer 6

a. Costs incurred due to past pollution, including clean-up of closed or existing sites

Question 7

Sustainability Investing Partners has an investment strategy whereby it invests 100% of its funds into companies that are signatories to the UN Global Compact. This strategy is an example of:

a. ESG integration
b. Norms-based screening
c. Best-in-class screening
d. Exclusionary screening
e. Impact investing

Answer 7

b. Norms-based screening

Question 8

Which responsible investing strategy is the most common in Canada in asset-weighted terms?

a. ESG integration
b. Best-in-class screening
c. Exclusionary screening
d. Norms-based screening
e. Impact investing

Answer 8

a. ESG integration

Question 9

Nature’s Path is creating its first sustainability report. Which of the following are best practices for sustainability reporting that Nature’s Path could consider?

a. Including an assurance statement
b. Having separate sustainability and financial reports
c. Focusing on the most material issues
d. A and C only
e. None of the above

Answer 9

d. A and C only

Question 10

True or False: Issues are material where a company has agreed to policy commitments of a strategic nature.

Answer 10

True

Question 11

Nature’s Path created an advertising campaign in which it links its sustainability initiatives to prevailing concerns about climate change. This is an example of a/an ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­_______________ appeal.

a. Euphoria
b. Emotional
c. Financial
d. Zeitgeist

Answer 11

d. Zeitgeist

Question 12

When attempting to appeal to consumers who seek the approval of others, it is advisable to:

a. Use guilt-based messages
b. Associate behaviours with negative self-images for the consumer
c. Make the issue personally relevant
d. None of the above

Answer 12

c. Make the issue personally relevant

Question 13

Compelling employee branding involves:

a. Creating a compelling employee value proposition
b. Defining your target audience
c. Reinforcing the value proposition in communications
d. All of the above

Answer 13

d. All of the above

Question 14

According to TerraChoice’s research, which sin of greenwashing is the most prevalent?

a. Sin of the hidden trade-off
b. Sin of irrelevance
c. Sin of fibbing
d. Sin of vagueness

Answer 14

a. Sin of the hidden trade-off

Question 15

GreenWash Co. has created a new ad campaign about its commitment to reducing the environmental footprint of laundromats while at the same time lobbying government officials to scrap laws mandating energy efficiency for businesses. Which greenwashing tactic is this an example of?

a. It’s the law, stupid!
b. Ad bluster
c. Sin of the hidden trade-off
d. None of the above

Answer 15

d. None of the above

Question 16

Which one of the following is NOT true according to the DesignTex compostable upholstery fabric case?

a. The chemical research process was expensive and laborious
b. The end product was higher-quality and ultimately more economical
c. The regulators’ testing instruments were broken when they failed to identify pollutants in the water effluent
d. Workers stopped wearing gloves and masks that were supposed to protect them against workplace toxins
e. After customers finished using the chair, the upholstery fabric could be torn off and composted.

Answer 16

c. The regulators’ testing instruments were broken when they failed to identify pollutants in the water effluent

Question 17

According to William McDonough and Michael Braungart, the authors of Cradle to Cradle, which one of the following is considered a “monstrous hybrid”?

a. Carpet that combines a durable bottom layer with a detachable top, both are made from safe and recyclable materials
b. Home-compostable packaging made from mycelium (a type of fungi) and the agricultural byproduct of hemp
c. Steel frame sections that can be readily reused in new construction
d. Fabric that combines organic cotton and recycled PET (polyethylene terephthalate) fibres

Answer 17

d. Fabric that combines organic cotton and recycled PET (polyethylene terephthalate) fibres

Question 18

Henry Ford used the material from shipping crates to make the floor boards of vehicles. This is an example of __________.

a. downcycling
b. composting
c. obsolescence
d. upcycling

Answer 18

d. upcycling

Question 19

Which of the following is a primary factor that should be considered when analyzing the relative benefits and costs of a product take-back program?

a. who should manage the cradle-to-cradle design activities
b. the length of the forward supply chain
c. the inherent reusability and recyclability of the used product
d. the ease of acquiring virgin materials for packaging

Answer 19

c. the inherent reusability and recyclability of the used product

Question 20

True or False: According to the European Union legislation, end-of-life products including washing machines, vacuum cleaners, roasters, printers, video games, bulbs, and smoke detectors are waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) that must be taken back by their producers if manufactured after 2005.

Answer 20

True

Question 21

Which of the following is NOT an advice from Andrew McAfee, a principal research scientist at the Center for Digital Business at the MIT Sloan School of Management, to keep the trend of dematerialization?

a. Eat more lab-grown meat
b. Make pollution costly through smart regulation and tough enforcement
c. Help the rest of the world get rich
d. Stop using nuclear energy because it pollutes the environment
e. Use renewable energy to reduce greenhouse gas emission

Answer 21

d. Stop using nuclear energy because it pollutes the environment

Andrew McAfee offered three pieces of advice:

Make pollution costly through smart regulation and tough enforcement
Stop cooking the planet by reducing greenhouse gas emission - use innovations like lab-grown meat, renewable energy, nuclear option, etc.
Help the rest of the world get rich

Question 22

Improving product performance is one of the top five drivers for adopting servitization technologies. This is because _______.

a. the CEMs’ focus is still on revenue creation from the aftermarket business
b. digital integration eliminates the need for data gathering
c. remote monitoring allows for enhanced productivity and reliability
d. inter-machine communication slows down performance

Answer 22

c. remote monitoring allows for enhanced productivity and reliability

Question 23

Which of the following statement about position tracking technologies is FALSE?

a. The use of GPS is well established in servitization.
b. They are ranked among the top servitization technologies by the academics.
c. They track machines/products, people or components.
d. They are significantly important for servitization involving stationary equipment.
e. They could improve maintenance efficiency.

Answer 23

d. They are significantly important for servitization involving stationary equipment.

Position tracking technologies are significantly important for servitization involving mobile assets.

Question 24

Which of the following statement about the use of predictive analytics in servitization is TRUE?

a. It is ubiquitous and ranked as the most significant by the capital equipment manufacturers.
b. It uses diagnostic technology for troubleshooting.
c. It uses a combination of hardware and software technologies.
d. It identifies the current state of a product.
e. It is based on prescriptive analytics.

Answer 24

c. It uses a combination of hardware and software technologies.

Predictive analytics focuses on the future state (for example, future failure) of a product. It uses a combination of hardware and software technologies. It is still not widely adopted. Descriptive analytics uses diagnostics technology and identifies the current state of a product.

Question 25

The executive briefing by the Cambridge Service Alliance identifies following enabling effects of technology on servitization EXCEPT ______.

a. aiding the development of service
b. enhancing product-service integration
c. focusing on the sales of products
d. facilitating service delivery

Answer 25

c. focusing on the sales of products

Technology enables servitization by aiding the development of service; enhancing product-service integration; facilitating service delivery. The focus is on the sales of function.